Hate Is a Strong Word
by Aiko Yamarashi
Summary: "Were you just checking me out?" Levy hated everything.


Title: Hate Is a Strong Word

Summary: "Were you just checking me out?" Levy hated everything.

Pairing: Gajevy/GaLe

Genre: Romance/Humor

Rating: T

Notes: I didn't really know how to end this.

* * *

Levy couldn't remember the last time she wanted to say she hated her best friend. She wanted to say it now. She _needed_ her to know that at that current point in time, Lucy was the bane of her existence.

But she couldn't tell her when she looked absolutely stunning.

Her white, strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline flowed beautifully around her. The top was form fitting and had just the right amount sparkle to give it a gorgeous accent. The bottom flowed around her beautifully with creases in all the right places, almost covering the strappy heels she was wearing. Her blonde hair was pulled into an elegant bun under the sheer veil on her head. She was nothing short of a goddess.

Which was another reason Levy wanted to say she hated her. She _envied_ her.

"I wish I was as gorgeous as you, Lu-chan," Levy said, stepping behind the blushing bride in the mirror. "Look at you!"

"Look at you!" Lucy said, stepping aside and drawing Levy closer to her so that they were side-by-side in the full length mirror. "You might just outshine me at my own wedding."

The form fitting red gown Lucy picked out for her bridal party was definitely beautiful, but Levy couldn't help but feel insignificant as she compared the two of them. Her hair was a wild blue tuff behind a red headband to match her dress, and the dress would have looked four times better if she had four times as much boobs. After all, Erza and Juvia were wearing the same dress.

"I'm the flattest girl in all of Fiore," Levy mumbled under her breath, hanging her head.

"Thanks for being here, Levy-chan," Lucy whispered to her friend. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the best Maid of Honor I could have asked for."

Levy smiled and gave her best friend a tight hug. Natsu didn't know how lucky he was to be marrying a gem like her.

Except Levy was still frustrated with her. Or Natsu. Or both. She couldn't decide.

"You know, that actually kind of reminded me of something," Levy laughed sweetly.

"What's that?" Lucy asked, grinning at the bluenette.

Levy dropped the sweet act. "How could you guys let a _Neanderthal_ like Gajeel Redfox be one of Natsu's groomsmen?!"

Lucy's grin fell, and she laughed sheepishly. "He's not that bad!"

"He's rude."

"He's one of Natsu's closest friends!"

"He's obnoxious."

"He's Juvia's best friend!"

"He's barbaric."

"Levy, you don't even know him."

"Yes I do! And now we're going to be sitting at the same table together!"

"Levy-chan, please don't let this ruin my wedding," Lucy begged, slapping on the puppy eyes for added effect.

As Maid of Honor, Levy wasn't allowed to let the words "ruin" and "wedding" be in the same sentence. "Alright, _fine_. I'll suck it up because I love you. But if he pisses me off, Natsu may not make it to the honeymoon."

Lucy laughed and drew her best friend in for another hug before they were all beckoned to leave the room. The ceremony was about to start.

XxX

Erza led precession, followed by Juvia, and then Levy, all meeting up front to stand across from the gentleman in the front, Gray (Natsu's best man), Gajeel, and Romeo. Natsu was in the middle of it all, looking nervous and excited as everyone turned to welcome Lucy in.

Since Lucy's father was no longer alive, Makarov Dreyar offered to walk her down the aisle, as he offered to do with all of the ones he thought of as his children. He did the same with Erza when she married Jellal.

Lucy looked even more stunning than when she was standing next to Levy in the mirror. Throughout the reception, Levy couldn't get over how beautiful she was or how happy she looked standing up there next to Natsu. She was on the brink of tears.

Then, she caught sight of Gajeel on the other side, looking both bored yet happy at the same time. He caught her staring out of the corner of his eye and gave her a small smirk. Levy pursed her lips, not wanting to show Gajeel any of the annoyance that was running through her mind. However, she let a smile slip when Gray caught her looking in their direction and flashed a rare grin.

Soon, the ceremony closed with a kiss and everyone proceeding back down the aisle and outside where they had birdseed flung at them (because Natsu was a firm believer that throwing rice would make the birds explode).

Then, it was on to the reception.

xXx

Levy was the first one to sit at the long set of tables set up for the bridal party, groomsmen, and, of course, the happy couple. There was a small table for Natsu and Lucy to sit at in the front of the reception hall, and two longer tables were on either side of it, facing each other.

Levy sat at the place with her name card, which was the closest spot next to Lucy, and Erza and Jellal's cards were positioned next to her. Gray was supposed to sit across from Levy in the spot closest to Natsu, Juvia was next to Gray, and Gajeel was next Juvia. Romeo was originally going to join the table, as well as Wendy, but Romeo opted to sit with his father instead, and Wendy decided to sit with Chelia and Carla.

Once the large table was filled, the reception was in full swing, alive with the chatter of the guests and clinking of silverware on plates.

The couples at the table were all happily engrossed in their conversations, occasionally making comments that Levy could add too, but, for the most part, they were telling stories about trips they went on or things they did together.

Levy caught Gajeel staring at her out of the corner of her eye, and he made a gagging motion before nodding to the conversation that was taking place. The bluenette rolled her eyes, but part of her wanted to agree. She didn't know how to fit in to this type of conversation.

Gajeel shrugged, expression bored as he looked from his plate back to the conversing couples, and then back to Levy.

Levy raised an eyebrow, to which he mouthed, "Boring." Biting her lip, Levy looked at her best friend, then back to the man at the end of the table, nodding slightly in agreement. She hated that he was actually right.

He jutted his head back to the buffet table, mouthing, "Food?"

Levy looked down at her plate, then around at everyone that was all paying attention to Erza as she told a story. Nodding, she pushed out her chair and proceeded to the side of the hall, meeting Gajeel halfway.

"They sure can talk, huh?" Gajeel asked once he caught up to Levy. "Vactions this, and holidays that."

"It's kind of cute," Levy admitted, not really pleased with the fact that Gajeel had become her savior from the table. "I just felt kind of out of place."

"You and me both, Shrimp."

Levy's eye twitched. "I have a name."

"Everyone does."

Twitch. "It's Levy."

"I know. And?"

Twitch. "Forget it."

Levy grabbed a small plate and shoveled some fruit salad and chocolate covered strawberries onto it.

"Trying to be healthy or something?" Gajeel's gruff voice came from behind her.

"I just wanted fruit." Plus chocolate covered strawberries were heavenly.

"Too sweet," Gajeel said, wrinkling his nose.

"Are you kidding?" Levy laughed, biting the tip off of one of her strawberries.

The tall man rolled his eyes and put something on his plate as Levy finished one of her strawberries. She turned her head to see if he was finished and suddenly he was in front of her, wiping her mouth with a napkin. Levy blushed before furiously pushing away from him, maintaining the balance of her plate.

"Doe personal bubble mean anything to you?" she asked, placing a hand over the spot he dabbed with hip napkin.

"I'm guessing it goes along with personal space," he shrugged. "Next time you want to walk back to the fancy bridal party with chocolate all over your mouth, I won't stop you."

Levy walked past him, muttering, "Stupid Gajeel."

The two returned to their seats, and Levy tried to push the thought of Gajeel wiping her mouth like a child out of her mind. But she couldn't because he kept staring at her with a smirk on his face.

Levy glared at him and took a menacing bite out of her fruit salad. Gajeel raised an eyebrow, his smirk never faltering.

"What?" she mouthed to him, to which he shook his head.

She rolled her eyes, returning to the conversation taking place.

But he wouldn't. Stop. Looking. At. Her.

She snapped her head back, mouthing, "What?" a little more menacingly, but her shook his head again.

He wouldn't win. So she continued to stare at him.

A voice called for the bride and groom to have their first dance, so Natsu took Lucy's hand and led her to the middle of the dancefloor as a slow song started playing for them, and they swayed to the beat for everyone to see.

Levy finally peeled her eyes away from the enemy across from her to watch her best friend be spun around the dancefloor. Lucy admitted that she and Natsu practiced dancing for this moment several times so they wouldn't embarrass themselves in front of everyone. It definitely paid off.

The song ended and everyone applauded and congratulated them, more people migrating to the dancefloor to join them for the next song, and suddenly the table was empty of everyone except Levy and the barbarian on the other side.

Levy glared at him, and he smirked. He nodded his head toward the dance floor and raised an eyebrow. The bluenette huffed, crossing her arms and turning away, but glanced back toward him out of the corner of her eye. He shrugged, resting his cheek on his fist as he watched everyone dance.

Finally deciding to just ignore Gajeel, Levy's eyes found Lucy on the dancefloor. She was smiling, her elegant dress twirling around her as Natsu spun her around. And the happier she saw Lucy, the more Levy felt like crying.

She wanted to find a love as beautiful as Lucy and Natsu's. Her best friend looked so happy that Levy couldn't help but feel both proud and a little envious.

Levy's vision suddenly went dark as something black stepped in front of her. Her hazel eyes trailed up the figure until they landed on Gajeel's face, red eyes staring down at her.

"Stop moping," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. "Come on."

"What are you doing?" the small girl asked, looking at how is large hand engulfed hers comfortably.

"Asking you to dance," Gajeel said. "Don't act like you don't want to; I saw the way you were staring at everyone."

Levy focused her attention on her feet as she followed Gajeel. Perhaps dancing with him could take her mind off of her sudden mood change.

They stood in one of the corners further away from the others dancing. He pulled her close and leaned down to her ear.

"I'm not the best dancer, so please don't complain," he said lowly, wrapping one arm around her waist, the other keeping her hand locked in his.

Levy couldn't help the small smile that found its way to her face. She grasped his hand firmly, her other resting as close to his shoulder as she could manage.

"I think I underestimated how tall you were," she giggled.

"And you're really short," he told her.

She deadpanned. "You could have said that a little nicer."

"I'm not sure there are very many nice ways to call someone short, Shrimp."

"You could start by not calling me Shrimp."

"You prefer Shorty?"

"I prefer Levy."

He sighed. "I make no promises."

Levy rolled her eyes. "Of course not."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Have you ever done anything nice in your life?"

"I asked you to dance. I'd say that's something."

The small girl cast her eyes to the side. "Stupid Gajeel."

"And I usually don't do this kind of thing," he informed her.

"So what makes me so special?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I got tired of you looking upset," he mumbled, but she could hear him perfectly.

"You could have just stopped staring at me," she told him.

"You were fun to look at."

"What does that mean?"

"Do I really need to explain it?"

"Is it another insult?"

"I think you're pretty cute, okay?"

Levy's eyes widened. She was going to blush, she just knew it. "Y-You think I'm cute?"

His ears were red. "Well, yeah."

"You're not so bad yourself," she mumbled, looking down at her feet again.

Despite the fact that she hated him (which was slowly slipping away for some reason), she did think he was rather attractive. His suit framed his broad shoulders nicely. She knew he was fit, too (because one time she accidentally saw him naked in a drunken game at Lucy's house one Christmas). His usual unruly, black hair was tied neatly into a low ponytail. He cleaned up well.

Gajeel cleared his throat bringing her out of her thoughts. "Were you just checking me out?"

"N-No!" she argued much too quickly.

"You totally were."

"W-Was not!"

"It's alright." He had another smirk plastered on his face. "Like what you see?"

Levy's face was now the color of her dress, she was sure. "Stupid Gajeel! Don't go getting a big head!"

He let out a small chuckle and leaned down to her ear again. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been doing the same all day."

Kill her. Kill her now. "W-What?"

He chuckled again. "Don't be so embarrassed, Shorty. It's natural."

He slowly pulled away from her, straightening to continue their dance. But, Levy's hands suddenly sprang up and caught either side of his face, halting his progress. He gave her a confused look, which caused Levy to realize exactly what she'd done.

"Sorry," she squeaked, releasing him. "It, uh, looked like you had something on your face."

He smirked again. "I'm sure you got it. Thanks."

Levy backed away from him. "Well, thanks for the dance. It was nice."

"You know there're more songs, right?" he asked. "It's not like this has to be our only dance."

"I think I'll go ask Wendy if she wants to dance instead."

"She's dancing with her friends over there." He motioned to the young girl on the side of the dancefloor.

"Well, maybe Mira wants to dance."

"She's dancing with Laxus."

"I think I saw—"

"Would you stop trying to avoid me?" he cut her off. "What do you have against me?"

"You insult me!"

"I just told you I thought you were cute!"

"You're rude!"

"I asked you to dance!"

"You—"

"Just admit you like me," he said, shrugging.

"I—WHAT?!"

"You never thought you'd find a guy like me attractive, so you're afraid to admit you like me."

"You're insane! Sorry to kill your ego, but not everyone has to like you."

"You don't think I know that?"

Levy was about to retort, but she suddenly felt eyes on her. She looked around and noticed that people were beginning to stare at them.

"Just dance with me," Levy mumbled, grabbing his arms and wrapping them around her before throwing his hands up to his shoulders. "People are starting to stare."

"Because they know you like me."

"Would you stop that?"

"Levy," he suddenly said, his joking tone changing to a more serious one. "You wouldn't leave me alone when we were at that Christmas party at Lucy's."

"We were drunk!"

" _You_ were drunk. The guys didn't even get a drop of booze, remember?"

"That doesn't mean anything."

"You openly check me out," he said.

"I'm a very observant person."

He sighed. "You know, there's a simple way to end this argument."

"I'm not going to agree with you just so you'll shut up," she said.

He rolled his eyes, not bothering to argue with her anymore. Instead, he leaned down and gave her lips a chaste kiss.

She stared at him blankly, lips tingly.

"See, you didn't automatically slap me."

"I don't want to cause a scene at Lu-chan's wedding."

"You didn't even argue with it."

"Fine!" she suddenly relented. "I mind find you slightly attractive, okay?"

"That's enough for me."

"Stupid Gajeel."

"Can I kiss you for real now?" he asked, raising a pierced eyebrow.

"N-No!" she choked out.

"You hesitated."

"I did not!"

"Just let yourself be kissed, Shrimp. Get in the spirit of the wedding."

Levy rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she mumbled.

"Will you at least let me take you to dinner?" he asked. "Tomorrow night?"

"F-Fine," she relented, face aflame once again. "Now shut up and dance."

Maybe she didn't hate Lucy for this as much as she originally thought.


End file.
